Multi-effects

[tous]

I've been playing for half a year now, and now I think it's time I dive into effects and stuff. Now I was wondering, is it wise (for a NKOTB as me) to buy something like the Korg AX1G? I read that it has several great effects, and it isn't really that expensive...
But if this is a good pedal, why does everybody keep buying single-effect-pedals?

Maybe these questions are a bit stupid, but hey, I'm new and this is just something I was wandering about...

[opl2000]

I have an ax1G and it has fine effects and stuff like that but it`s very light. Like if you press it too hard or too rapidly it does not hold still. It does not include empty slots for your own sounds so you have to overwrite the other sounds. It`s a good pedal, i recommend it if you play at home. It isn`t good at gigs. You know that at gigs you can get a little over exited and then you slam the pedal too hard and it moves around.

[opl2000]

I have an idea! Buy an ax1000G. It`s heavier.

[Druid]

I suggest you buy a zoom GFX707 at zzsounds
for $150 with around 40 effects a drum machine a talker etc. etc.

[Dr. VIC]

i just bought korg ax1g & its taking me a bit of time to program the patches.i haven't been able to get the sound i want(especially for distortion).could somebody help me with the patches(i know how to edit the existing factory presets-so tell me more about the settings)?

[Uncle Istvan]

I haven't tried the Korg, but my Zoom 505 has done me good for the past 2 years. I'm trying to shy away from multi-effects pedals lately, but for their price, their great.

[opl2000]

You have to pick the right kind of distortion. Then you choose how heavy the distortion is(value).For example FUZZ value 30. You just have to try the settings out. You can play with the effect at the same time you are editing it. Today i made a very wierd sounding setting. It has Fuzz value 30 from "distortion" and echo value 30 from "pedal". You should try it. When the pedal is up, it gives an echo for the notes you have picked. Then, when you have just picked a note with the pedal up press the pedal down and up again. It gives a really wierd sounding echo. And when you play notes at the same time you are pressing the pedal up and down, you get a scratch sound. You know... that kind of scratch dj`s come up with.

[Rockinstrat]

whats your price range, i mean you can get a boss me-3 or somthing for 300 or around that? Im not sure. i got the zoom 505, its great for a first effects pedal.

[guitarMike]

DIGITECH!!RP series!Bought a RP12 from Musician's Friend online for $300.00.Lists for $600.It's got everything but the kitchen sink.Blow it out!

[Fretmeister]

i use single effects units after having used a couple differnet multifx ones. i like this setup better because i get a more consistent tone that to me makes my sound more recognizable. multifx (imho, some people like them) make you sound like everyone else because that is what they do, model other sounds. especially the new ones like the rp2000 and gt-3 and stuff that try to model all these different amps, they do too much in my opinion. i prefer to keep a few good stompboxes and a couple good amps to run through (one clean, one for lead, i use a pan pedal to switch between)

that's my thoughts...

jason

[Tobias]

I'm trying out a Digitech RP14 at the moment. Just played on it for about two hours. It's not mine, it's my friend's, and he forgot to give me the user manual. But I tell you: It's so easy! When I first played on it two days ago it took me maybe half an hour to understand all the parameters and stuff. And I'm not experienced with MultiFXes at all. And the sounds are just great. You can really use it for every style.
It^'s great to try out some experimental stuff which is waht I like. Go and try it out!

[Fender1165]

If you're new to effects and want a processor, I'd suggest that you get a DOD Tec-4. It's a great beginners pedal for a reasonable price. Mine was about $130. I tried the zoom and did not like it as much as my dod.

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-ejd

email:
Fender1165@aol.com
Guitarbiz@hotmail.com

[josh_underwood]

For a Good Price i suggest a zoom 505. But For A Great Pedal Get The Digitech rp 2000, Its All Youll Ever Need!!

[Jon68]

Multi-effect and single effects pedals all have their place. I tried a ZOOM 505, which was a lot of fun, but tended to be pretty noisy with my Super Reverb. The low cost multi-effects also tend to keep effects in the same position in the signal chain. For example, you might not be able to move the distortion after the chorus. More expensive multieffectors will allow you to rearrange the signal chain. I also found that the Zoom effects tended to be a bit limited when used on their own - each individual effect was not as versatile as single pedals. Multi-effect pedals may also start to drop certain effects that require a lot of storage (reverb and delay) if you use many different effects.
With single effects, your sound has a lot of versatility. You can arrange/rearrange effects and sculpt your tone very precisely with easy-to-use knobs. On the down side, most single effects pedals are not programmable for different degrees of sound. The effect is either on or off. If I need to change sounds between songs,I have to bend over and twist the knobs.
I currrently use an Ibanez TS9 reissue and a Danelectro Chorus and Delay. I am thinking of trying one of the new generation of multi-effect pedals, such as the Korg AX-1000 or Boss GT-3. These units are very versatile and I have been very impressed with the sounds from the GT-3. You must spend some time with any multi-effect unit though - they are considerably more difficult to program even though you can get superb sounds.

[This message has been edited by Jon68 (edited 08-18-2000).]

[ilovebogner10]

I've got a Lexicon MPX G2 with the foot-controller and that is the most killer processor ever. If you're willing to buy something that expensive (and rack-mounted)it's amazing. I think it's far and beyond any other processor I've heard (except for a few Eventides). But you can get ANY sound you'd ever want out of that thing. It makes pedals obsolete (even though I still use an out-of-phase harmonizer to get a sound that NOTHING else can get). But I just want to say big thumbs up to Lexicon.

[Zeppelin]

A good multi effect proccesor is Zoom 707
i have one for about half a year and till now
it worked great. However It's always better to use different pedal for every effect, especialy when talking about wah... spend this 100$ and buy one http://www.guitarforums.com/gtubb/smile.gif

[Sully]

I have had just about every multieffect unit out there. Every time I sell them within 6 months. Finally, about a year ago or so, I picked up the Boss GT-3 and have been extremely happy with it. One thing that I have learned is that most of them are also preamp units, which means that they have a personality of their own, not just effects. Well.....an amplifier has a preamp and thus has a personality of it's own. When using the multi effect through the amp you can lose the sound of the amp that you liked to begin with. With the GT-3 I plug into the power amp returnn on the back of my Peavey BAndit so its not getting any coloring from the amp itself. The GT-3 also has amp modeling and sounds great this way. If you are using the amp, I would suggest just using individual effects and either inserting them between the guitar and amp, or the effects loop, whichever sounds better. You would want to put distortions, wahs between guitar and amp. You would want to put delays, choruses, flanges etc. in the effects loop. Don't be afraid to try odd setups, you never know where your trademark sound will come from

[BadHorsie]

Please do not waste your money with Zoom or DOD. Boss, Korg, and Roland are the way to go. DOD and Zoom are the same company and put the same chips in all their effects processors, which they could care less about. Boss, Korg, and Roland are also the same company and are used by top professionals for great sound and effects. My advice, save up an extra hundred or two and buy a Boss GT-3... IT has everything you'll ever need.

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Ain't nothin' but a Gear thang, baby!

[webturbo]

I still think that individual "stomp-box" pedals are the way to go. Several years ago, I chucked all my pedals and bought rack-mount Digitech unit and a fancy Midi Foot-controller to go with it. It was nothing but problems from that point on. First, I hated most of the factory presets ... and re-setting all the individual parameters to your own preferences can be a technical nightmare... not to mention time-consuming.
On stage, I was also constantly forgetting what switch on the foot controller worked what patch ... etc ..... then there was the night the unit itself crapped out on me about 10 minutes before the start of a gig. Something shorted out somewhere inside ... get the picture?
I finally just trashed it and put my old pedalboard back together .... it's got everything I need: Crybaby Wah, Ibanez Tube Screamer, Boss Chorus, Boss Flanger, DOD Octave, DOD Tremelo, MXR Analog Delay, Boss 7-band Graphic EQ and a DOD Pedal-Tuner ....
They all work and sound great, and are very road-friendly and sturdy ... about the only problem that happens with a pedalboard is the occasional bad patch cord, which is easy and inexpensive to replace!
Hope this gives you a little something to think about

[loner92]

Not to degrade the GT-3 or aything (I'm sure it's as good of a digital unit as you'll find), but how can you go to digtital distortion after playing on a high gain tube amp? Since I got my half stack, I haven't been able to stand playing through a digital unit for distortion.

[winghoong]

I am thinking to buy a ZOOM GFX 707 Multieffects...
qhat you all think ??sold around USD$ 145 here...
I mean..i heard lots of patches..and also combination to get the sound you want..
hav tuner...got metronome...can jamtrack...i mean..u record a 2 second...riff..then loop it..and you are set to jam ...rite??
so..what you all think???
how about a korg effects??

thanks very much!

Winghoong

[Raskolnikov]

I'm another of those stand alone pedal people- I hate processors with a passion. To me the tone usually sounds too good when used well, and the factory presets are loathesome. Also, I'm something of a minimalist when it comes to effects. The only person who has rack mount effects that I like would be Les Claypool, but god knows how much time he spends tweaking and programming those effects...
But anyway, the bottom line on my advice would be whatever way you go, play around with things and get what you like, and I agree w/ Bad Horsie- stay away from DOD and ZOOM.

[winghoong]

Yeah...i just bought it a week ago!!! and it sounds great.
For its price.,,,it really worth..
if you are a begginer like me.... and have limited budget like me also..
try to get this zoom 707..
its a lot cheaper then other effects from roland...korg...boss... sure..its worth..
and i am very happy.....with this effect
another question is...ppl around the world...all talking that this zoom sounds sucks....can anyone explain to me ..why?
thanks

wing hoong

[machinex]

Ive been playing for 7 years now and I have had a number of "all in one" effect units. Ive been a loyal digitech buyer for 4 years from the rp-1 to the rp12 which I just sold on ebay.

Basically I came to the conclusion that most multi effect processors really mess with your sound, imo it hurts it. Ive since switched to individual stomp boxes. Yes its harder to apply effects then simply stomping on one pre programmed pedal but I feel you get more control over the effects and they are easier to edit, plus there are no limits as to how many effects you can run at once with stomp boxes.

For a beginner I think all in one units are pretty good cause it lets you get familiar with different things but once you get more experienced (or even starting early on) I personally would avoid processors. But thats just me.

If I were going to get an all in one unit though, even now, I would go for an Eventide Rack Processor, those things are incredible, unfortunately your last name has to be "gates" in order to get one cause they are rediculously expensive. But for a beginner I would recommend the Digitech RP-12... its easy (as far as processors go) to edit the patches, you have plenty of room to store your own creations and it has some other cool features. Just be sure to take care of them though, they arent too solid electronically.

If/when you get tired of processors, there are millions of individual pedals out there worth exploring, especially the vintage ones.

[Robbie10000]

personally i think you should save your money and get stomp boxes instead of that electronic crap.. but that my 2 cents... to me boxes sound a hell of a lot better and your can have more of your "own" style.... and have many many more choices

[howie50]

Don't place too much creedence on what people say, it's a good idea to try out as many FX pedals as possible before spending any hard come by cash. Ask your friends what they have, maybe they'll let you try it out. Try it all out in the guitar store' yeah I know the store guys can be intimidating, and when they play they sound a thousand times better than you do, but ask yourself this, if they are so good, why are they still selling guitars. I have a zoom 505 which I've had for years, I never really used any of the pre-sets and am constantly changing the patches to suit my needs. I also have a Line 6 Flextone which is also very good. Don't rush into it, think carefully about what sound you want, it may be that a couple of stand alone pedals will do.

[LEEtheV]

*Just my 2 centz worth.....I gazed through most of the posts in this thread and am suprised to see that more of you haven't addressed NOISE as an issue when deciding on effects.....ILOVEBOGNER10 pretty much hitz it on the head with the Lexicon unit and Midi-Controller.....(Very Nice, SUPER CLEAN :) ).....The Digi-Tech stuff is pretty nice also :p

[dobey2000]

If you are looking for a cheap pedal, but want one with a fairly good/reliable sound. Try the Zoom 505.

Don't let it's small size fool you, it really can pack a punch, and has gotten me out of a few jams in a gig when my main system died, I plugged the 505 into the board and we were in business again.

See ya,

Dobey2000

[LEEtheV]

*Here's how the V gets an oldie but a goody....GET DRUNK, Turn EVERYTHING UP FULL BLAST (at 2 in the morning), the cops come and arrest me (AGAIN :D) and I spend the rest of the night scraping my cup against the metal cell bars (I use no other effects to get that "clangy" sound).... :D:D:D

[Dr. Saturno]

I have a multiFX Zoom 2100, it´s very cool with the chorus, flanger, phaser, delay, reverb, and tremolo the noise reduction works very well, but the bad points are two:
1) The distortion and overdrive sound too much metallic
2) The wah-wah, doesn´t sound cool.

I´ve have the sollution to these troubles.

1) I like the sound of the Boss SD-1 , I´ll bought it.
2) I´ll too bought a wah, but i don´t know which:

- the Vox wah?
- the Morley wah?
- the CryBaby wah?

Dr. Saturno from Argentina